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Background: Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) is the most common cause of gastric outlet obstruction in infants. There is paucity of published data regarding this condition in our setting. This study describes the clinical presentation, mode of treatment and outcome of treatment of this disease and identifies factors responsible for poor outcome of these patients. Methods: This was a descriptive retrospective study of infants with HPS admitted to Bugando Medical Centre and subsequently underwent surgery between February 2009 and January 2014. Results: A total of 102 patients (M:F = 4.7:1) were studied. The median age at presentation was 5 weeks. The median duration of illness was 4 weeks. Fifty-four (52.9 %) patients occur in first-born children. Associated anomalies were reported in 7 (6.9 %) patients. Non-bilious vomiting was the most frequent symptom and it was described in all (100 %) patients. A palpable mass was found in 23.5 % of infants. The diagnosis of IHPS was made clinically in 86 (84.3 %) and by ultrasound in 16 (15.7 %) patients. The treatment was Ramstedt’s pyloromyotomy in all cases. There were 6 (5.9 %) intra-operative mucosal perforations which were repaired successively. Postoperative complication was 11.8 %. The median length of hospital stay was 12 days and it was significantly associated with prolonged preoperative hospitalization (p = 0.001). The mortality rate was 4.9 %. Age below 2 weeks, late presentation (≥14 days), severe dehydration on admission, hypokalaemia on admission and surgical site infection were the main predictors of mortality (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study has shown that IHPS is a common condition in our setting. Age <2 weeks, delayed presentation, prolonged preoperative hospital stay, surgical site infection and high proportion of dehydration and electrolyte disturbance were the main predictors of poor outcome. A high index of suspicion is needed in infants with nonbilious vomiting to avoid delay in diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malaria vector sampling is the best method for understanding the vector dynamics and infectivity; thus, disease transmission seasonality can be established. There is a need to protecting humans involved in the sampling of disease vectors during surveillance or in control programmes. In this study, human landing catch, two cow odour baited resting boxes and an unbaited resting box were evaluated as vector sampling tools in an area with a high proportion of Anopheles arabiensis, as the major malaria vector. Methods: Three resting boxes were evaluated against human landing catch. Two were baited with cow odour, while the third was unbaited. The inner parts of the boxes were covered with black cloth materials. Experiments were arranged in latin-square design. Boxes were set in the evening and left undisturbed; mosquitoes were collected at 06:00 am the next morning, while human landing catch was done overnight. Results: A total of 9,558 An. arabiensis mosquitoes were collected. 17.5% (N = 1668) were collected in resting box baited with cow body odour, 42.5% (N = 4060) in resting box baited with cow urine, 15.1% (N = 1444) in unbaited resting box and 24.9% (N = 2386) were collected by human landing catch technique. In analysis, the house positions had no effect on the density of mosquitoes caught (DF = 3, F = 0.753, P = 0.387); the sampling technique had significant impact on the caught mosquitoes densities (DF = 3, F 37. 944, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Odour-baited resting boxes have shown the possibility of replacing the existing traditional method (human landing catch) for sampling malaria vectors in areas with a high proportion of An. arabiensis as malaria vectors. Further evaluations of fermented urine and longevity of the urine odour still need to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Entomological surveys are of great importance in decision-making processes regarding malaria control strategies because they help to identify associations between vector abundance both species-specific ecology and disease intervention factors associated with malaria transmission. Sporozoite infectivity rates, mosquito host blood meal source, bed net coverage and mosquito abundance were assessed in this study. Methodology: A longitudinal survey was conducted in four villages in two regions of Tanzania. Malaria vectors were sampled using the CDC light trap and pyrethrum spray catch methods. In each village, ten paired houses were selected for mosquitoes sampling. Sampling was done in fortnight case and study was undertaken for six months in both Kilimanjaro (Northern Tanzania) and Dodoma (Central Tanzania) regions. Results: A total of 6,883 mosquitoes were collected including: 5,628 (81.8%) Anopheles arabiensis, 1,100 (15.9%) Culex quinquefasciatus, 89 (1.4%) Anopheles funestus, and 66 (0.9%) Anopheles gambiae s.s. Of the total mosquitoes collected 3,861 were captured by CDC light trap and 3,022 by the pyrethrum spray catch method. The overall light trap: spray catch ratio was 1.3:1. Mosquito densities per room were 96.5 and 75.5 for light trap and pyrethrum spray catch respectively. Mosquito infectivity rates between villages that have high proportion of bed net owners and those without bed nets was significant (P < 0.001) and there was a significant difference in sporozoite rates between households with and without bed nets in these four villages (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Malaria remains a major problem in the study areas characterized as low transmission sites. Further studies are required to establish the annual entomological inoculation rates and to observe the annual parasitaemia dynamics in these communities. Outdoor mosquitoes collection should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of plant repellents against nuisance biting insects is common and its potential for malaria vector control requires evaluation in areas with different level of malaria endemicity. The essential oils of Ocimum suave and Ocimum kilimandscharicum were evaluated against malaria vectors in north-eastern Tanzania. Methodology: An ethnobotanical study was conducted at Moshi in Kilimanjaro region northeastern Tanzania, through interviews, to investigate the range of species of plants used as insect repellents. Also, bioassays were used to evaluate the protective potential of selected plants extracts against mosquitoes. Results: The plant species mostly used as repellent at night are: fresh or smoke of the leaves of O. suave and O. kilimandscharicum (Lamiaceae), Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae), Eucalyptus globules (Myrtaceae) and Lantana camara (Verbenaceae). The most popular repellents were O. kilimandscharicum (OK) and O. suave (OS) used by 67% out of 120 households interviewed. Bioassay of essential oils of the two Ocimum plants was compared with citronella and DEET to study the repellence and feeding inhibition of untreated and treated arms of volunteers. Using filter papers impregnated with Ocimum extracts, knockdown effects and mortality was investigated on malaria mosquito Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles gambiae, including a nuisance mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus. High biting protection (83% to 91%) and feeding inhibition (71.2% to 92.5%) was observed against three species of mosquitoes. Likewise the extracts of Ocimum plants induced KD90 of longer time in mosquitoes than citronella, a standard botanical repellent. Mortality induced by standard dosage of 30 mg/m² on filter papers, scored after 24 hours was 47.3% for OK and 57% for OS, compared with 67.7% for citronella. Conclusion: The use of whole plants and their products as insect repellents is common among village communities of north-eastern Tanzania and the results indicate that the use of O. suave and O. kilimandscharicum as a repellent would be beneficial in reducing vector biting. The widespread use of this approach has a potential to complement other control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]